How To Use Whole Wheat Flour in Bread?
Bread is generally baked using white flour or all-purpose flour. But what if you want to avoid white flour and make use of whole wheat flour for baking bread? Nowadays people are getting extremely health conscious. They are preferring healthy food instead of unhealthy food. As compared to white flour, whole wheat flour is considered highly nutritious. Besides nutrition, whole wheat flour is extremely nutty and adds tasty flavor to baked goods and other flour-based recipes.
Whole wheat flour is known to add fiber to your diet, which helps in easy digestion of the food. You can reap other health benefits from whole wheat flour such as reducing the risk of blood pressure, heart diseases, stroke, and also obesity.
Here are some extremely helpful tips that will come in handy to you when baking bread with whole wheat flour.
#1 While Baking Bread With Whole Wheat Flour – Start With Small Quantities:
Baking needs to be done with complete concentration. Your slightest mistake would completely change the outset of the final baked item/ bread. So you must take baby steps while baking. You cannot suddenly start eating whole wheat flour baked items. Initially, you won’t like the coarse texture and taste of the bread. Experiment with different recipes rather than directly landing up on the main item. When you have confidence that you and your family will like it, then you can substitute whole wheat flour while baking bread. Give your taste buds some time to adapt by substituting 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour.
#2 Ensure About The Amount Of Whole Wheat Flour That You Must Use In The Bread:
As you know whole wheat flour has high weight and density, you must use whole wheat flour in lesser quantities than normal white flour. For instance, if you are using 1 cup white flour for baking bread then you must use 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour.
#3 Always Add Liquid To The Whole Wheat Flour While Baking Bread:
Whole wheat flour absorbs large amounts of liquid and at a slow rate. So while baking bread keeps adding liquid (water/ milk) in the required amount to whole wheat after every short interval. If you prefer to add sweetness to the bread, then you can use orange juice.
#4 You Must Mix The Flour With Slowly And With Ease:
When you are making use of whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour for baking bread, then don’t over mix. With slow and easy mixing, you will allow for the elastic gluten in baked goods to rise.
If you try to over mix the flour with other ingredients, the elasticity of the dough would be lost and the bread would come out extremely thick. This happens because the air bubbles won’t get enough space to expand. With the easy mixing of the flour, you can ensure that the final product is fluffy and fresh.
#5 You Must Leave The Baked Goods Uncovered For A Night
Whenever you bake delicious items such as brownies, bread, or blondies with whole wheat flour, then you can keep them uncovered overnight. The cooling effect they receive at night will provide extra time to develop and soften the grain’s bran and any rough texture.
#6 Make Sure You Are Using High-Quality Fresh Whole Wheat Flour:
If you want your baked items to be soft, fluffy, and tasty, make sure you are using fresh milled whole wheat flour. You can buy such flour from the small store millers who always keep fresh flours. Even if you are getting packed flour from supermarkets then verify the date to ensure its freshness.
Summary:
Whole wheat flour is extremely good for health. It is basically made from processed and heavily refined wheat grains. As compared to white flour, whole wheat flour is a bit dark and possesses a sweet and nutty taste. In earlier times, all-purpose flour or white flour was used for baking bread. But due to the high nutritional value of whole wheat flour, people have shifted from white flour to whole wheat flour. The main components of whole wheat flour are mainly carbohydrates, starch, vitamins, dietary fibers, and minerals. Besides this, the flour also has moderate amounts of protein and is nutritious than white flour, which is primarily used in baking.